Chapter 60

(Visenya 'Blackfyre', GC Encampment)

Watching the envoy squirm as she cleaned her daggers was quite amusing.

These little pests dared to demand she join them in their foolish quest to end her husband. 

Ridiculous. 

"Can we trust you to fulfill your part of the agreement, Lady Blackfyre?" His false bravado was admirable at least, most would be shitting their pants at her apathetic stare.

Then again, they were desperate, trying to use a Valyrian of all people to help them end the last dragons. Not that they would admit it.

"Yes… You can play your little games. My troops will keep the Mudd's Banners busy while you play your little games." She said, her words infuriating the envoy, whose nostrils flared in outrage.

"Please take this seriously. If any of us fail in doing our part, I don't need to inform you of what the consequences could be."

His threat would be more intimidating if not for the fact that the man whose wrath they'd been facing wasn't her lover and husband.

Visenya did not need gods or priests to ordain her marriage with Erlend, she said she was married to him, and that meant she was wed to him. 

"Your fear of Erlend is disgusting, I will do my part, now leave before I have you gutted for sullying this tent with your presence, weakling." That seemed to push the envoy far enough, as his face turned red from outrage.

Before he could say anything that would see him killed, the envoy quickly fled the tent. Though he failed to hide the look of utter hatred that flashed his eyes, how intimidating… Not really.

Men like him were always more bark than bite, just a worm who spent too much time in the sun.

Shaking her head at that amusing thought, she raised her eyebrow once Edoryen entered the tent, having made sure that the envoy had truly left.

"I take it you want this tent burnt once you leave, my Queen." Gorys was expressionless as always.

"Make sure to scatter the ashes, I don't want any taint it may have to spread to the rest of the camp," Visenya said lightly.

The company's paymaster nodded seriously, knowing full well that she wasn't jesting. "His Majesty has sent a few shadows, he wants us to sneak them into the Sealord's ranks when given the chance."

"Make sure it's done as soon as possible. The sooner we finish with these buffoons the better. Erlend shouldn't have to waste his time with these mongrels."

"As you say, my Queen." With that, the cadaverous man quickly left to do as ordered.

She was thankful for Erlend's runes, her lieutenants were far more trustworthy and reliable now compared to when she first took over leadership of this company. At least her brother's ill-gotten bastard spawn finally made them useful for once by creating a useful tool.

Her thoughts drifted to her husband's children.

For one, Edmund was nothing like that pathetic brat, Aenys, not only was he healthy, but the boy had also slowly been taking on more responsibilities as he grew older. Her darling didn't want to overwhelm his son and much preferred to teach his son how to protect himself. Yet, he never denied the importance of knowing how to govern well.

While she did mourn the fact that she would be unable to give her beloved a true heir, Edmund made an adequate alternative, at least the realm was unlikely to collapse under his reign like it did with Maegor and that sissy brother of his.

The other children were good enough, Jasper was a bright little brat, who was stuck to his brother's wherever he went, and that Myrcella girl was pleasant enough. Knowing Erlend, her lover probably already planned to hand his precious little cub her own Kingdom, just as he'd done for Jasper.

He was far too soft on his children sometimes.

…

"It was foolish of you to agree to the Sealord's proposal on my behalf, then again you and that cheesemonger always tended to go for the most idiotic option." As always the first thing to greet her 'brother' was an insult.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Sister. Your charm is unique as always." The eunuch, unlike the envoy, was unfazed by her words.

Having long been used to Visenya's venomous words. 

Beside him sat their vapid sister's only living spawn. The boy looked curiously at her, though he made sure to stay close to his Uncle for his own good.

Understandable, she would have no qualms about shoving a dagger right into the brat's heart. Ridding her beloved of another potential source of trouble.

Sensing the undisguised hostility within his sister, Varys quickly diverted her attention. "I had no choice, the Sealord threatened to reveal Daemon's existence."

Go figure, another fucking Daemon. Their two fat idiots' creativity was just as lacking as her brother's descendants.

"That means nothing to me, I couldn't care less if the brat dropped dead right now."

"Come now Sister, Westeros deserves a good King. There is no better option than our nephew, who was born to be King."

"Please, if you still had your cock. The brat would already be a corpse in some ditch or other." She did not bother to mince her words, Varys may claim to care about the realm and his family, but only a fool would truly believe that.

Had he truly done so, then the eunuch would have never pushed Aerys as far as he did. The Targaryens were still family after all.

Westeros had never seen the need to distinguish between the two branches, even piling their resentment of the Black Dragon towards the senior branch once Maelys corpse was dropped in some ditch or other.

"Never mind that now, this is the only chance we have to get rid of our biggest threat. You must fulfill your end of the bargain if the Black Dragon is to rise once more." Varys said seriously. 

Refusing to acknowledge just how true her words were, and trying to reassure the boy beside him. 

"He must be taken care of, I suspect he's already aware of our existence." Varys continued his prattling.

"I'm a silver-haired, violet-eyed woman, leading the Golden Company. Of course, he'd fucking realize I'm a Blackfyre." Visenya had no intention of holding back.

Anyways, it was an open secret that Erlend was well aware of Vary's schemes. Her husband had used Varys' identity as a Blackfyre to seize all his wealth within Westeros. While he didn't need to, giving the lord's proper justification kept them from assuming the worst and making stupid judgments.

It was those very judgments that got the wolf brat and his father killed in the Red Keep.

"I'm aware, yet Mudd has never taken action against the Golden Company. We have no idea what he intends for us."

"Stop worrying so much you bald fuck. The plan is practically foolproof." For her beloved that is, as for Sealord and his gaggle of rats, that has yet to be seen.

…

(Erlend Mudd, Firmridge)

Skimming over the letter Visenya sent him, Erlend dodged another strike from his son.

It wasn't difficult to multitask for him, and it did help motivate Edmund to improve on his skills. Still, the lad was getting visibly frustrated as Erlend kept dodging every single one of his attacks whilst simultaneously looking at the letter.

Jasper, being the munchkin he was, was rooting for both the father and son. He wondered how long his youngest son would remain this enthusiastic, seeing as he was due to start training sometime soon.

Once he finished the letter, Erlend chucked it aside, letting a gust of wind carry it back to the pile next to Jasper.

His full attention was now placed solely on his Eldest son, as he shifted from passive to aggressive. Forcing Edmund to defend against the sudden ferocious strikes.

All in all, considering his age, the young prince was well above his peers in talent and skill. Something that Erlend took great pride in.

Finally, after what seemed ages to the young lad, a well-timed feint threw the boy off balance and saw him disarmed and on the ground.

"You did well." Erlend praised his son, proud of the lad's effort.

"Still lost." With a huff, the boy looked away. Displeased about the latest defeat.

Now that would just not do. Before his son could brood any longer, Erlend helped him up, only to immediately begin messing up his well-groomed hair, ruffling it till it looked like a bird's nest.

"None of that now, I was nowhere near as talented with the blade at your age." Erlend shamelessly lied. Anyway, a little white lie never hurt anyone.

Just as Edmund was about to retort, the boy found himself on the ground once again. Jasper is far too excited to care about their discussion and tackles his brother to the ground while chattering about his brother's performance.

The older Mudd watched his two sons bonding with a fond gaze, glad that his children were as close as siblings could be. It was gratifying not to have to deal with sibling intrigue.

He genuinely hoped that this bond would remain strong long after he was gone. Now if only they didn't dote so much on Myrcella, it would be terrible if she became too spoiled.

Of course, Erlend completely ignored the fact that he was the one who doted on his daughter the most.

Trouble was brewing and the Sealord and his circle of sycophants were finally prepared to make their move and they were nice enough to drag most of his other enemies with them. 

Visenya had already informed him of their agreement with her and Varys. It seemed like the Eunuch had finally had enough of scuttling in the dark.

Having gotten ahold of a sample of their little mixture, Erlend was sure that had his dragons been like the original Targaryen ones, his enemies would likely have succeeded.

Unfortunately for them, they underestimated just how powerful they were. As all the elixir would achieve, was slightly weakening them for a few minutes, which was nowhere near strong enough to kill them.

Of course, just because they weren't able to kill his dragons, didn't mean he wouldn't be taking precautions and adding protections to his scaled children.

This also presented an opportunity for him to finally get rid of the ants that had been biting at him for so long in one fell swoop. So he decided to spring the trap, so to speak. If they were going to willingly offer themselves up on a platter, there was no reason not to take a bite.

There were also those eastern sorcerers who provided invaluable aid to the Sealords scheme. Since the imperial court of Yi Ti decided to dip its toes into his business, he could not, in good faith, let them leave without a little gift of his own.

"Dad! Dad!" Interrupting his plotting, Jasper began pulling at his hand.

"Hmm… Jasper?" Erlend focused his attention on his youngest son.

"Can I start? Can I? Please! I promise I'll be good."

Unable to say no to those puppy eyes, Erlend reassured his son, "Of course, you'll be starting your lessons soon. In a few weeks that is."

"YESSS!" The future Arryn lord yelled in excitement, oblivious to the look of pity his older brother sent him.

Truly, his brother had no idea what he was getting himself into. Naturally, there was no need to warn his little brother of the terrible fate that awaited him.

Erlend snorted in amusement at the dramatic expression of his eldest, clearly the boy took after him in some of his more sadistic tendencies. Oh well, when in doubt, just blame Oberyn.

No one would believe the dornish prince, no matter how much he protested. Guilty till proven innocent was the way one tended to deal with that manwhore of a prince.

"That should be all for today, Edmund. After you're done cleaning yourself, head to your mother. You should be able to find her in the library now." He told his son, before holding Jasper's son and leaving the training grounds.

Edmund nodded his head, acknowledging his father's words, before rushing off to clean himself up.

As King, there was much that needed Erlend's attention, and he'd need to drop Jasper off with Lysa before he could get on with his duties. Sometimes he genuinely regretted taking the crown, otherwise, he wouldn't have so much work.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

…

"We've managed to garner a sizable following within the ranks of the most devout, they've slowly but surely been pushing for the changes you ordered, your Majesty."

"Good, your operations never fail to deliver, Ellar. Have there been any stumbling blocks?" Erlend asked his spymaster.

"There has been some pushback from the conservative factions, fortunately leaking some of their more heinous secrets has worked in silencing them and even pushed the more extreme ones into seclusion." Ellar dutifully reported.

Conservatives always had dirty laundry that would put them in the backfoot, it was just a matter of uncovering those misdeeds. Not that the moderates were any different, but they were just better at hiding it.

"There's another thing that might interest you. The shadows have discovered dozens of golden trails coming from Pentos and Highgarden, likely the work of the Eunuch and the Redwyne."

Unsurprising, as it would be incredibly beneficial for the Blackfyre cause if they could get the faith under their thumb. Erlend was never going to allow that to happen.

"Cut them off, now that the discussions have reached a critical level, we can finally push for the reforms. I won't accept any outside interference, so you have free reign to execute all hostile agents, be it foreign or domestic." He ordered.

The faith had been free for too long, they were a destabilizing factor to the Realm, and getting them under control would be crucial in ensuring stability. 

Malora had already warned her family not to interfere, while he had a measure of trust in the Hightowers, it was not enough to leave one of the most influential institutions under their purview.

Nearly a decade has passed since he took over and Erlend had never made any move to stabilize the faith. Instead slowly destroying its unity and cohesion, and strengthening the growing division between the various factions.

Making it impossible for them to vote in a capable High Septon and allowing the most devout to get comfortable with their 'power'. All so he could implement the necessary changes that would put them firmly under House Mudd's control.

"Volantis has been stirring with unrest lately. Shadows report that the Red Temple is discontented with the pureborn's failure in keeping the three daughters in check and has been urging them to take action again."

The fire demon's religion thrived on the division and hostility between the so-called free cities. Stability meant fewer people needed to resort to the red priests for aid, be it for healing or 'blessings'. Slavery was also another thing that greatly boosted its influence, with many priests being former slaves.

As for why they didn't do anything to end it, it was just human nature at its worst.

He knew of all the gods within this world, R'hllor was the one who relied the most on the power of faith. Without it, he was just a minor god at most, despite him supposedly being the Great Other's mortal enemy.

There was some grade A bullshit going on there.

"I want all our men in Volantis to gradually make their way out of the city in the next few months."

"Your Majesty?" Ellar looked suitably confused, this was decades of work and espionage after all.

"You'll understand soon enough. Make use of the Iron Bank and focus on Braavos and Pentos, strengthening our presence in those two cities."

Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, "As you wish, your Majesty." Ellar bowed and made his way out of the solar.

This should place more pressure on Antaryon and his toadies, Erlend was fully aware of that man's role in his parent's demise. He looked forward to seeing the look on his face when everything finally came undone.

Braavos would be firmly under his family's control as it should have been since its inception. Regardless, he was getting ahead of himself, there were still things that required his attention and it would do to let them pile up.

Looking at the papers in front of him, Erlend let out a weary sigh. He couldn't wait to hand over the reins to Edmund once the lad was ready.

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Note: Some of you might realize where I am going with the faith, if not then a little hint should give you the idea, cough Henry VIII cough. Also for those who like to assume the worst, he is not going on a divorce-marriage spree…